Yearly Archives: 2009

This is the first year the Midwest Clinic was held at McCormack Place. Before this it was held at the Hilton, which provided a festive atmosphere, but was too small and cramped for the conference. McCormack Place was more sterile, but had plenty of room for everything the Clinic offered.…

Who goes to a conference the week before Christmas when they haven’t started shopping and don’t have a single Christmas cookie made? Teacher and I, of course. Last year we didn’t attend the Midwest Clinic because it was so close to Princess’s due date so we were really looking forward…

Once upon a time a modern fairy tale began when a handsome and more-than-slightly smart-alecky College Boy married a beautiful and very smart Irish Girl. They were very happy together, but something was missing. “We need an apartment.” Irish Girl told College Boy. Wisely, College Boy agreed, so the happy…

First off I have a confession: I’ve never been a fan of peanut butter unless it was an ingredient in cookies or bars. There, I’ve said it and the world hasn’t come to an end. So why would I make peanut butter? That’s easy – I’m a big fan of…

My first thought the next morning was, “I hope the chipmunk is in the trap!” then, “Uh-oh, if it is I hope the cats didn’t get it!” But there was no reason to worry; the cage was empty. Not only that, all the almonds that weren’t covered with peanut butter…

The next morning I was relieved to wake up and see that the cats hadn’t killed the chipmunk and left it on our bed as a present in the middle of the night. Kippy, Murphy and Buddy were still hanging out in the kitchen, sniffing at the opening under the…

Last Thursday I was washing dishes when I heard a mad scramble coming up the stairs toward me. I know, it’s shameful that it’s taken me over a week to post, but this saga is worth the wait. I thought it was Laelia, our skittish tortoise-shell who thinks the Bogey…

Act TWO I searched for a solution online, trying everything on the Dell support site and combing forums for answers before finally giving up and contacting Dell Support. Despite an extensive list of possible solutions, there was only one thing I hadn’t tried. I tried it, but the poltergeist wouldn’t…

ACT ONE It all started when Teacher’s trusty Palm Tungsten died. After a short period of mourning Teacher replaced it with an iTouch. I was bummed because we’d had matching Palms and matching Toshiba laptops, but couldn’t justify getting an iTouch just so we’d still match. Don’t freak, our matchy-matchy…